[8] Cooper agreed to conduct an auction to gauge the level of interest by potential buyers and the value of the assets for sale.

[9] The studio also held out the possibility of gaining a large influx of cash from new investors, although industry analysts believed that alternative was unlikely to happen.

The due diligence process was "going slowly" one trade publication reported, with only four of the potential 20 companies participating as of December 18.

[15] MGM originally set January 15, 2010 as the deadline to receive bids from the companies interested in acquiring the studio.

[20] Barclays Capital, a British investment bank, was quoted as saying, "We find it unlikely that MGM's creditors would cleanly agree to a sale price materially below $2bn.

"[20] Time Warner, one media source reported, was seen by industry observers as the leading bidder since it already owned much of the MGM library and had large cash reserves.

[20] Qualia Capital, previously thought to be a potential bidder, had suggested that MGM's creditors could have avoided forcing the studio into bankruptcy by agreeing to transform $500 million of debt into company stock (which would provide MGM with a cash infusion as well as eliminate a substantial portion of debt).

However, some stated that the company might continue as a label for new James Bond productions, as well as other movie properties culled from the MGM library.

[37] On December 29, 2010, MGM signed a new lease with New York-based group George Comfort & Sons for a 6-story building in the corner of 235–269 N. Beverly, leaving its old headquarters in Century City.

[38] A late 2011 financial report revealed that MGM had acquired Tom Cruise's 30% stake in United Artists and once again owned 100% of UA.

The deal allowed MGM to set a market value of US$2.4-US$3 billion for the studio, in case it went public or sold to a strategic investor.

The planned faith-based entertainment service will become a separate entity owned by MGM, Burnett, Downey, and Hearst.

In February 2018, Chris Brearton, the former media M&A attorney of Latham and Watkins, was appointed as chief operating officer.

[48] Later in April, MGM decided to use the rights to the 25th James Bond film as leverage for a possible sale of the studio, with Annapurna Pictures and Warner Bros. seen as potential bidders.

This despite Moody's Investor Service reducing MGM on two key ratings because of increased TV spending and the departure of fiscally conservative Barber as CEO.

[53] However, Tellem exited that position after six months in part due to clashes with Mark Burnett, TV group chairman.

[54] In December 2020, MGM began to explore a potential sale of the studio, with the COVID-19 pandemic and the domination of streaming platforms due to the closure of movie theaters as contributing factors, hiring Morgan Stanley and LionTree Advisors to handle the process on behalf of the studio.